


Not One Of Us (Please Tell Me I Am)

by sapphirepastries



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28083204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphirepastries/pseuds/sapphirepastries
Summary: The little Vessel overhears an argument.The little Vessel runs away.(this is inspired by rukafais' octopath au! the link is in the notes. please check her stuff out! she's an amazing artist!)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 79





	Not One Of Us (Please Tell Me I Am)

**Author's Note:**

> once again, this is inpired by rukafais' octopath au. [this](https://rukafais.tumblr.com/post/179385501321/this-got-longer-than-i-thought-it-would-oops%22) is what this fic is based off of! please check it out!

“See? I’m fine.”

Xero pat the top of the Vessel’s head reassuringly. Despite being heavily injured and on the verge of death, Xero managed to survive through sheer willpower and the desire to protect the little Vessel he had rescued. He was truly lucky the moth, Markoth was his name, had found him in time. If he died he wasn’t sure there would be anyone to protect the little one. Said Vessel was currently clinging onto him, scared that he would disappear the moment they let go.

“I’m feeling a little tired so I’m just going to sleep for a while, okay?” Xero said, carefully laying down on the bed. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

The Vessel stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly and let go of him, pulling the blanket over their savior. They carefully pat his head in the same reassuring manner, causing Xero to chuckle softly.

“You’re a good kid, little one. I’m going to have to figure out what name to give you when I wake up.”

Xero closed his eyes and fell asleep in a matter of seconds. Rescuing a kid from being killed by a heartless king was tiring work after all. The Vessel watched over him for a while, unwilling to leave him alone when they heard faint voices coming from another room. They tilted their head and poked their head through the curtain that was used in lieu of a door. The voices must have been Markoth and the Seer, considering they were the only ones who lived in the cave. The Vessel had never seen moths before and during their short time living with them, they had gotten attached. The fluffiness the two had definitely helped ease their wariness. They had never felt anything so soft before. The Seer was nice and let them bury their face in her fluff, but Markoth had vehemently refused their request, grumbling about not being a pillow.

The voices had gotten a little louder, prompting the Vessel to investigate. They followed the voices until they reached what they remembered to be the kitchen. They were about to pull the curtains back when Markoth’s sharp voice stopped them.

“That thing cannot possibly be a Wielder! It was created in opposition to everything we are!”

The Vessel stilled, hand still in the air. The Seer’s voice answered back.

“Nonsense! Of course they can. And you should be more careful with your words, Markoth! That child did not choose the circumstances of their birth.”

“It is not a child! It isn’t even a living thing!”

“Don’t be foolish!”

The Vessel dropped their hand, listening as the argument continued to go on.

Of course. Of course they weren’t welcomed here. They weren’t welcomed anywhere. Why did they think that they could possibly be a normal bug? They weren’t supposed to exist after all. They were supposed to have been disposed of along with the rest of their siblings. They pulled up their hood and quietly walked away, stopping by Xero’s room for a moment. Surely he would be able to stay here as long as they left. If they weren’t here, Markoth might be willing to let him stay. Xero was a real bug after all, unlike them. They were just a Vessel.

Just a hollow being.

The Vessel waved goodbye to the sleeping Xero before carefully making their way out of the cave. No one will get hurt if they leave, and that fact helped them steel their resolve.

\--

Markoth growled as the Seer, his mother, whapped him upside on the head.

“You don’t have to hit me,” he grumbled.

The Seer huffed, crossing her arms and shaking her head in disappointment.

“Yes, I do. Now go tend to Xero and the child. Remember, my son, they are a child. Not a thing.”

“Alright already...I get it…”

He left the kitchen, grabbing some medicine before heading to their patient’s room and pulling the curtains back.

“You better be feeling alright--”

He stopped.

Xero was asleep on the bed, but the little Vessel was nowhere to be found. Carefully, he placed the medicine on the nightstand before hurriedly leaving the room. He checked each room thoroughly for the little brat. They weren’t in the storage room, nor his room, or his mother’s room.

They weren’t here.

Hoping the brat was in the kitchen he raced over, throwing the curtains back only to see his mother there and no brat in sight.

“Markoth, what on earth is the matter?”

Markoth didn’t answer, his heart racing at the fact that the Vessel couldn’t be found anywhere.

Where did they go? The brat wouldn’t leave Xero’s side for a second while they were treating his injuries. It took his mother giving them countless reassurances that Xero would be alright to even pull the Vessel into the kitchen to get them something to eat. So why is the Vessel not by Xero’s side or in the cave?

The answer hit him like an Ooma’s explosive core.

“...Shit.”

They must have heard their argument and ran away.

\--

Perhaps they shouldn’t have gone through the City of Tears. What were they thinking? Even the outskirts of the place was crawling with guards. The Vessel ducked behind a rock, thankful that the rain helped give them more cover.

Where should they go now? They didn’t know the area well, and the one place they were able to find safety rejected them. Markoth must be happy they left.

The sound of clanking armor pulled them out of their thoughts, and they carefully peeked over the rock. A couple of sentries were patrolling the area, and trailing behind them was…

The Vessel froze, fear engulfing their tiny body.

A Kingsmould.

Silent screams.

The scrambling pitter patter of tiny feet.

The sound of void splattering onto the ground.

The sound of masks being cracked.

A Kingsmould covered in void splatters. The dark black contrasting against the pale white.

The Vessel ducked behind the rock, tears rolling down their eyes as they held their mask in their hands. They were the only ones among their siblings to survive the disposal of the Vessels, the image of their siblings being cut down one by one as they tried to escape has never left their mind.

This time it was nearby rustling that pulled them out of their thoughts. They looked up.

A Vessel looked down at them, black tear streaks on their cheeks, and they felt their void jump. But something was off...no, this wasn’t a Vessel.

This...thing was not a Vessel. It was just using the image of one. An impersonator. The Vessel could feel its heart break at the sight. They grabbed a nearby stick and whacked the creature with it, hoping to at least damage it. The creature was unharmed and it lifted a sharp claw, ready to spear its prey. The little Vessel shut their eyes tight, holding the now broken stick as if it could protect them.

Was this where it all ended? Being killed despite escaping? To belong nowhere? Xero saved them for nothing, and they couldn’t even thank him. They weren’t a good kid like he said. They weren’t even a real child like Markoth said.

They weren’t one of them.

The Vessel kept its eyes shut, waiting for their inevitable death, but the sharp claw never came. Hesitantly, they opened one of their eyes only to see the creature shaking, two nails embedded deeply into its back. The creature fell to the floor with a thump, revealing Markoth standing behind it, breathing heavily.

“Damn Nosk creatures. What was one doing out here? I thought they stayed in Deepnest and never left.”

The little Vessel fully opened their eyes, shaking, wondering what Markoth was doing here. Markoth kicked the creature aside and turned to the Vessel, who flinched.

“....”

He carefully walked over to them, kneeling down and holding out a hand to them.

“I am sorry, little one,” he said softly, a contrast to when he was shouting at the Seer. “Let us go home together.”

The Vessel gave him a confused head tilt. Didn’t he hate them? They weren’t a child or a living being. Just an empty Vessel.

Markoth looked uncomfortable, unused to apologizing and being nice. But this was his fault. He shouldn’t have said the things he said. The Vessel _was_ a child. They were a living being with feelings and thoughts.

“I shouldn’t have said that you weren’t a real child,” he continued, eyeing the Nosk creature. Nosks used the images of people dear to their prey in order to lure them to their den. The fact that the creature used the image of a Vessel only solidified the fact that the little Vessel was a living being. “I was very, very wrong. You are a real child, you always have been. I was just too stubborn to see that. Please..let us go back home together. Back with my mother and Xero and, if you can forgive me, me as well.”

Tears pricked at the corners of the little Vessels eyes and they hurriedly stood up, nearly stumbling over their feet as they ran to Markoth, clinging onto his cloak. The moth gently picked them up, cradling them in his arms. He wasn’t prepared to be a parent, but he’ll do his damn best to be the best kind of parental figure for this kid.

“And to start that, I should give you a name,” he said, rocking them gently. “With the way you disappeared like a little ghost…”

He hummed.

“That sounds good. How about ‘Ghost’? Our little Ghost.”

Ghost closed their eyes, never letting go of Markoth’s cloak.

Little Ghost.

They liked that. They liked it very much.

They were finally a normal bug.

They were one of them.


End file.
